New Hire Observations

Got it.. Yep. Very familiar with that process.. Just different terms.. INF = short the item, BOPUS.. Buy online pick up in store..
 
How reliable is that training though? I remember back in the day there was computer training for how to be a proper FR attendant right when modernization deemed there was to be no FR attendant at all.
 
I'm probably the odd one out, but my training was really well done. My first shift, someone spent a few hours showing me everything and all of my coworkers have been super helpful. If we ever get a slow minute, someone will ask "hey have they shown you how to ____ yet?" and teach me. I guess I must be lucky to work at the location I do
 
I'm probably the odd one out, but my training was really well done. My first shift, someone spent a few hours showing me everything and all of my coworkers have been super helpful. If we ever get a slow minute, someone will ask "hey have they shown you how to ____ yet?" and teach me. I guess I must be lucky to work at the location I do
See that's what I'm talking about.. That's how training should be..
 
Target has a really bad habit of looking for ways to shift responsibility downward. This isn't new, it's been a company culture for decades.

For training in particular, it began with the team trainer program, where the training burden was placed on ground level team members by attempting to abuse the desire to advance (carrot on stick mentality) to get additional productivity (training) for no additional cost.

Target does this with a variety of things, but ultimately they fail because the work to pay ratio is horribly lopsided, the amount of productivity expected is not in line with the pay being given. There's simply no added value aside from not having to deal with an untrained person in the future. Of course this type of thing snowballs until you have no people with any real training. It's a retail problem in general.

Don't hold your breath waiting for it to get better, it isn't. Ever.
 
I'd like to yes.

Good luck.

Based on your posts, you are investing too much into Target and trying to get involved in too much. You are going to experience the same burn out you say you had as a store manager but at a way lower pay check.

Trust me, the level of frustration, unhappiness, etc. you will accept is directly related to the amount on your paycheck. If you were unhappy making $20 or $30 or $40 per hour as a store manager, you will surely be more unhappy as $13 or $14 or $15 per hour as a Target team member.

Just go into work, do your job, and then leave. You can't do everything, you can't fix everything, and you can't be involved in everything.

Also, the store's performance is not your responsibility. Your shifts in your area are not going to change the sales and profit performance of your store in any meaningful way. You could zone perfectly, pull amazingly, stock incredibly, etc. and it won't move the needle in any meaningful way over an employee who barely zones, doesn't pull, and only stocks what they give them.

For example, a couple weeks ago they had me pushing books. Never did it before but merchandise is merchandise and I can follow the zebra to the right location. Anyway, the books section was trashed - there were books in the wrong spot everywhere. So what did I do. I pushed the books that I was given to their right locations. Did I fix all the other books - no. If I had started to do that, I would have never been able to finish pushing the books that I was given. I would have pushed the first book, then had to fix the books that were wrong in the 1st book's location, then had to fix the books that were wrong in the locations of the wrong books in the 1st book's location, and so on. That would have gone on for hours and hours - it would have gone on longer than my shift it was that messy.

Fixing the book section was not my job. My job was to push the books they gave me to the right locations - which I did.

Target has a team of electronics people who have the job of fixing the book section. Target has a ton of managers who have the job of making sure the book section gets fixed.

I got paid exactly the same as if I was Superman and fixed everything. The store's management gave me the same zero recognition as I would have received if I was Superman and fixed everything.

My advice is show up, do your job, and leave. What happens between when you leave and show up is none of your business. What happens outside of your section during your shift is none of your business. Do your job to the best of your ability or the best of the ability you choose to do.
 
Good luck.

Based on your posts, you are investing too much into Target and trying to get involved in too much. You are going to experience the same burn out you say you had as a store manager but at a way lower pay check.

Trust me, the level of frustration, unhappiness, etc. you will accept is directly related to the amount on your paycheck. If you were unhappy making $20 or $30 or $40 per hour as a store manager, you will surely be more unhappy as $13 or $14 or $15 per hour as a Target team member.

Just go into work, do your job, and then leave. You can't do everything, you can't fix everything, and you can't be involved in everything.

Also, the store's performance is not your responsibility. Your shifts in your area are not going to change the sales and profit performance of your store in any meaningful way. You could zone perfectly, pull amazingly, stock incredibly, etc. and it won't move the needle in any meaningful way over an employee who barely zones, doesn't pull, and only stocks what they give them.

For example, a couple weeks ago they had me pushing books. Never did it before but merchandise is merchandise and I can follow the zebra to the right location. Anyway, the books section was trashed - there were books in the wrong spot everywhere. So what did I do. I pushed the books that I was given to their right locations. Did I fix all the other books - no. If I had started to do that, I would have never been able to finish pushing the books that I was given. I would have pushed the first book, then had to fix the books that were wrong in the 1st book's location, then had to fix the books that were wrong in the locations of the wrong books in the 1st book's location, and so on. That would have gone on for hours and hours - it would have gone on longer than my shift it was that messy.

Fixing the book section was not my job. My job was to push the books they gave me to the right locations - which I did.

Target has a team of electronics people who have the job of fixing the book section. Target has a ton of managers who have the job of making sure the book section gets fixed.

I got paid exactly the same as if I was Superman and fixed everything. The store's management gave me the same zero recognition as I would have received if I was Superman and fixed everything.

My advice is show up, do your job, and leave. What happens between when you leave and show up is none of your business. What happens outside of your section during your shift is none of your business. Do your job to the best of your ability or the best of the ability you choose to do.
Damn man don't know where to start after reading this.. I'm sure your post came from the heart and frustrations with your work, I get that, but I disagree on a few points. Everyone can make a difference to the bottom line of the company. Those that take the attitude not to then so be it. For me it's a matter of pride and ethic. Happiness at a job is not correlated to the amount of money one makes, at least not in my case. I was making close to $40/hour when I break my old salary down to an hourly rate, but the headaches and unhappiness it cause me on a daily basis just wasn't worth it. I'm happier now then when I was making a nice salary and for me that is where I place value. From some of the post though it appears Target needs to address training/pay/work load issues as many have commented on it. I'll keep that in mind in the future.. Again I appreciate the brutal honesty.
 
Target has a team of electronics people who have the job of fixing the book section. Target has a ton of managers who have the job of making sure the book section gets fixed.
Technically, all of entertainment (books, movies, CDs, and Funko) are the responsibility of General Merchandise team. However, at my store, we in Tech have had it dumped on us, including setting and revising POGs on a weekly basis. We don't get any additional hours from GM to do this, and we don't get credit for any of the sales in that area. My guess is your Tech team is just making the tie without resetting the POG. I don't do that, but others on my team do because all our store management is concerned with are the metrics, not what makes for a better shopping experience for the guest.
 
The good people hopefully have enough vacation hours saved up to tide them over until hours pick up, though every year that pick up is happening later and later. Some good people hold onto Target while job hunting with intent of leaving, but few retailers are hiring after Christmas, and that keeps them at Target until the better hours. Some stores will gut the not so good people's schedule to try and get the good people some extra hours, but that could simply mean 10-12 hours a week. Total, not extra.

And that is why turnover is at an insane rate. I've heard nationwide it's over 50% and some stores are rubbing up against 70% turnover.
 
Back
Top